How to Get Windows 10

Microsoft’s reveal of the basic changes users can expect in Windows 10 stunned a lot of people. For the most part, there were the same groups of people are arguing over whether Windows 10 would have the right ingredients to be successful. Forget those guys, the only thing desktop and notebook users need to know is that Windows 10 fixes the things they complained about most while still giving them the benefits of Windows 8.

Here’s how to get Windows 10 on your desktop or notebook today.

Before you commit to downloading Windows 10 on your notebook or tablet, there are some important details that you should know. First, Windows 10 – no matter how it looks – isn’t done. In fact, Microsoft revealed yesterday that it doesn’t have plans to launch a final version of Windows 10 until sometime in the later half of 2015.

What users are getting today isn’t Windows 10, necessarily. It’s called the Windows Technical Preview. The Windows Technical Preview is designed to show off new features and provide Microsoft with actual feedback about how users are enjoying it. Rumors are that the company will push specific features to different users and then use what it learns to build a better product.

The Windows Technical Preview includes the features that Microsoft showed off yesterday and many of those where the features it told us it had plans to introduce back at BUILD 2014. The Start Menu is back. Contrary to what people have said, this new Start Menu is a lot closer to the Start Screen that desktop and notebook users hated than it is to the Start Menu that was in Windows 7. In Windows 10 a list of app sorted by how often they’re used sit next to what we now think of as Windows Store apps and they’re Live Tiles. This new Start Menu can be resized to take or more or less of the screen.

One new feature that users should enjoy is universal search. Microsoft has experimented with building search functionality into Windows since Windows 8.1, but search in Windows 10 is a step up. For the first time, Microsoft is including universal search for the first time. Windows 10 users will get search results in the Start Menu from websites, local documents and files.

Windows 10 also introduces Windows Store apps that run side-by-side with their Desktop counterparts. For example, with Windows 10, Xbox Music can sit right beside iTunes or the Desktop version of Internet Explorer. If you like the way apps work on your system right now, presumably you’ll be able to change them back to opening in full screen.

Finally, know that things can go wrong. This is pre-release software at a very, very early stage. You’re already going to need to back up your things before getting the Windows 10 update on your notebook or desktop anyway. You’re going to want to make sure that you keep a steady back up in case you don’t like the operating system or it breaks a crucial feature that you just have to have.

How to Get Windows 10 Now

Track down your Microsoft Account. That’s the same account that you use to login to Windows 8 today or other Microsoft products like Xbox One or Outlook.com.

Now you’re going to use that Microsoft Account to sign up for the Windows Insider Program here.

Click I Accept to except the Terms for the Windows Technical Preview.

Click here and login to the same account that you just used to register for the Windows Insider Program.

Now go on download the Windows Technical Preview version that you need for your device. Don’t forget to copy down the product key provided either. Which version you’re looking for is dependent on which country you live in and what it operating system you need. Most notebooks and tablets will require 64-Bit Windows but you can download 32-Bit if your computer requires it. Right click on the Computer icon on the Desktop and click on Properties. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’re downloading 64-Bit Windows.

Click on the version you need and click Save instead of open.

Now right-click on the file you’ve downloaded and burn it to a DVD. Reboot your machine and begin the setup process. You may need the product key once the setup is complete.

To be clear, there are other ways to get the Windows Technical Preview on your device. We used a USB Flash Drive to get the preview on our device. No matter, be sure that you have a plan for storing your data and getting your backed up data back onto your device should something go wrong.

In addition to warning users against installing the Windows Technical Preview on their primary machine, Microsoft also says that users might run into crashes. Presumably, the Windows Technical Preview will replaced next year with another version that has more features for consumers.